The Marauders: The Beginning
by Districtrue
Summary: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew are in their first year at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The large red steam engine had begun to pull out of the station. Parents, muggles and wizards alike, were waving at their children, who were leaning out of the compartment windows. It would be nearly four months before they could see each other again.

Inside the compartment, James Potter had found a seat across from a grumpy looking boy. There was a girl sitting by the window, her dark red hair falling over her face, which was blotchy, as if she had just been crying.

"I'm James" James said, throwing out his hand to the boy across from him.

"I'm Sirius. The star was named after me." The boy called Sirius said with a wide grin, shaking James' hand.

"Do you want a game of exploding snap?" James asked, emptying his pockets. The two boys leaned together, and started the game on the seat. The loud bangs and shouting meant that they paid no attention to the girl in the corner.

Then a boy, with greasy black hair, entered the apartment and started talking to the red haired girl. James thought he looked rather ill. His clothes were dirty, and he carried an aura of a horrible childhood.

"I won that round," said Sirius, scooping the pieces into his hands with a proud smile.

"Nice —" but James stopped talking. He had been listening to the greasy haired boy's conversation.

"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James asked Sirius, who's smile faded.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin" Sirius replies gloomily.

"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword.

"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."

The black haired boy made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him.

"Got a problem with that?" He asked, challengingly.

"No," said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy–"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

James roared with laughter. The girl sat up, her cheeks rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo…"

James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Snape as he passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" James called, as the compartment door slammed shut.

James sniggered. "Honestly, I say we throw him out of the train."

Sirius nodded in agreement, looking through the glass at Severus and the girl's retreating backs.

The rest of the trip came with no further interruptions, except for a trolley witch, from whom James bought several chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties.

As the Hogwarts Express approached Hogsmeade station, students began to file into the corridor, all dressed in brand new robes. Their trunks would be brought into the school separately, so James and Sirius got off the train, holding only the snacks they had bought.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A giant of a man stood in the station.

"Blimey, who do you reckon he is?" James asked Sirius, as they walked towards him. James noticed that most of the students walked all the way down the platform, but they were older, judging by their height.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!'

The two boys followed the rest of the first years down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that James thought there must be thick trees there.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the man called over his shoulders, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great back lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" He called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. James and Sirius were followed into their boat by a small boy with watery eyes, and a skinny boy, whose face bore a few scars.

"Everyone in? Right then - FORWARD!"

James turned to the boys in his boat. The two strangers seemed quite shy, both sat apart from the others and looked around nervously. He turned to face the front again and called out. "Oi! Who are you?" He asked the giant man, sitting alone in a boat.

"Call me Hagrid," he replied, "everyone does. An' I'm keeper of keys at Hogwarts."

"Oh," James said, understanding, turning back to Sirius. "He must be the gamekeeper then. It was in the papers, my dad gave them to me. Dumbledore hired a gamekeeper." He said knowledgeably, lowering his voice.

The fleet of boats glided across the lake which was smooth as glass. The first years were staring up at the great castle overhead. I towered over them as they sailed ever closer to the cliff on which it stood, tall and magnificent, its many lights shining a path for them to walk on.

At last they reached the cliff, and they all bent their heads as the boats carried them through a small opening in the cliff face, from where ivy was starting to grow. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be right underneath the castle, and they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"I'm starving" Sirius complained, right as his stomach gave a particularly loud growl. Apparently the pasties he had eaten on the train were not enough. "Will we get to eat straight away?"

"I reckon so," Hagrid replied gruffly, leading them up a flight of stone steps. The first years grouped around the huge, oak front door. Hagrid waited till they were all there, then raised a fist the size of a dustbin lid, and knocked three times on the castle door.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: all rights go to Joanne Rowling. Private message me for headcanon credits.**

* * *

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in long, black robes stood there. She had a stern expression upon her face, but James smiled at her nevertheless.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The first years followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor, gaping at the flaming torches and the marble staircases. The drone of hundreds of voices reached them from the doorway to the right.

"Everyone else must be inside already," James said to Sirius, who looked glum.

"They've started dinner without us," he said, giving an angry look to the doorway that concealed the rest of the students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall, interrupting their discussion. "The start-of-term feast will begin shortly, but before taking your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your houses. This ceremony is of the utmost importance; while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts."

"So they haven't started eating yet," whispered Sirius, his facial features relaxing.

James did not listen to the rest of Professor McGonagall's speech, but rather stood on his tiptoes, attempting to see into the Great Hall above the heads of the other first years.

There was a wave of nervous muttering.

"What's happened?" James asked loudly, looking around.

"The professor's gone to get the Sorting hat, to sort us into the houses," said a small boy quietly, who James recognized from their boat ride.

"Form a line," Professor McGonagall had returned, "and follow me."

James and Sirius rushed to the front of the queue, as though it would make a difference. The Great Hall looked magnificent. It was lit by thousands upon thousands of candles, which floated above four house tables, where the students were sitting. At the very front of the hall, there was another long table, where the teachers sat. Looking up, James thought he was staring at the open sky, though he knew the ceiling was enchanted. The first years came to a halt just before the teacher's table, staring at the sea of students.

Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years, on top of which sat a wizards hat. This hat was extremely old, parts of it were patched and frayed. Everyone was staring at the hat, so James watched it too. There was complete silence. Then, a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat began to sing:

" _I'm the old school Sorting Hat,_

 _And once I see this hall_

 _I'm placed up upon your head,_

 _And begin to sort you all._

 _Put your trust in me, the hat,_

 _And let's see where you belong,_

 _A look inside is all I need,_

 _Of yet, I've never been wrong._

 _First of all, there's Gryffindor,_

 _Where all the dauntless go,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and courage_

 _Will make you a hero._

 _You could go into Hufflepuff,_

 _If you fight for justice,_

 _Your kindness and dedication_

 _Is proof for all your toughness._

 _Or perhaps in Ravenclaw,_

 _Where they are wise and unique,_

 _These clever ravenclaws_

 _Are not at all weak._

 _Finally, there's Slytherin,_

 _The passionate and ambitious,_

 _These slytherins are cunning,_

 _And known to be judicious._

 _So try me on and let's find out,_

 _Where you ought to be,_

 _You will learn to love your house,_

 _Just wait and you will see!"_

The hall rang with applause, and James joined in energetically. The hat, having finished its song, bowed to each of the four tables in turn, then became quite still again.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will be put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Aberdeen, Molly!"

A tiny girl with curly blond hair stepped out of the line, and propped herself onto the stool. The hat fell right over her eyes. There was a moment's silence, then -

"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat for the whole hall to hear.

The table on the far left exploded with cheers. Molly sighed with relief, and went to join the Slytherin table, a happy expression on her face.

"Bernstein, Karen!"

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat, and the table next to Slytherin applauded. James saw Karen run off to shake hands with the older students.

"Black, Sirius!"

James watched anxiously as Sirius walked up to the stool. The hat fell right over his eyes, and there was a tense pause. James could see Sirius shutting his eyes and muttering under his breath. If he was in Slytherin -

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius looked shocked. Then, his face splitting into the widest of grins, he took the hat off and ran over to the Gryffindor table, which was applauding wildly. He sat down near the front, and gave James a double thumbs up. James grinned back at him, but the inside of his palms were starting to sweat. What if he ended up in Slytherin? No. He was definitely a Gryffindor.

One by one, the students walked up to the stool, the hat shouted out their house,, and they ran to the table as the hall applauded. Dimly, he registered that the red-headed girl from the train went to Gryffindor as well, along with the two boys that were with him and Sirius during the boat ride (one of which took several minutes to be sorted).

"Potter, James!"

James strode up to the stool, a confident aura surrounding him. The hat dropped low over his head, and for a few moments, all he could see was darkness.

"A Potter, eh?" asked a small voice in his ear. "All Gryffindors, a determined mind, yes indeed. Oh, and friendship is a priority, I see … hmmm, well there is only one choice fitting. GRYFFINDOR!"

The Sorting Hat shouted the last word to the whole hall. He took of the hat, and ran excitedly towards the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Sirius, who clapped him on the back.

"Brilliant!" he shouted above the clapping. "We're together!"

Looking to his right, he saw the red haired girl, looking determinedly away from himself and Sirius. "I'm James," he said, throwing out his hand to shake, which she ignored.

"Hmph," she huffed, and turned so that her back was to him.

Sirius looked at James and shrugged. "Oh well, lost cause," he said, as a student walked to the Slytherin table.

As 'Young, Zalaika,' sat down with the Hufflepuffs, Professor McGonagall took the hat and stool out of the hall, and a tall man with a long white beard, half moon glasses, and dark red cloak stood up at the staff table.

"It's Dumbledore!" James said, nudging Sirius, who nodded fervently.

Albus Dumbledore beamed down at the hall, upon the hundreds of faces turned his way. "Welcome!" he said, his voice echoing around the Great Hall. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Let us waste no more time. Let the feast begin!"

The hall exploded with applause, and James' jaw dropped as the golden plates in front of him filled suddenly with every food imaginable. Sirius gave a shout of delight, and began piling some of every dish into his own plate.

As James scooped a large chunk of shepherd's pie onto his plate, Sirius, mouth full, tried to talk to the two boys across from them, but managing only a magnificent shower of peas, as they flew out of his mouth. James roared with laughter, and the two boys, faces full of disgust, swapped out their plates for new ones.

"Sorry," Sirius said, managing a swallow. "I only wanted to know what your names are," he said, licking his lips free of mashed potatoes.

"I'm Remus Lupin," said the quiet boy, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact with them.

"Peter!" said the other, whose voice was unusually high pitched.

"I'm James, and this is Sirius," James introduced, as Sirius had turned his attention back on his food.

There was a general lull in the conversation, before James started questioning them about their background. Remus was a halfblood, but Peter wasn't sure on his blood status.

"I'm a pure-blood," said Sirius, when he had finally finished eating. "The whole lot of them are horrible. Except Regulus, he's okay I suppose," he added as an afterthought, referring to his younger brother.

When the students had eaten their fill, the plates wiped themselves clear and the puddings arrived. Sirius moaned with ecstasy, and began to wolf down his chocolate gateau, even though he had just said he was quite full.

At last, the food vanished, and Dumbledore stood up. The hall fell silent, and all eyes turned to him.

"I have a few short start of term notices to give you all," he said to the hall.

James could see Sirius' attention was already going quickly; he was now swirling his flaggen of pumpkin juice around.

"The forest in the grounds is forbidden to all students. will be here for the school year, before retiring in June," Dumbledore raised his voice, as several students let out cries of protest at these words. James distinctly heard a boy down his table shout 'sack him!'.

"Magic should not be used in the corridors. Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should contact Madam Hooch. And now, let us go up to our beds, and have a nice long sleep before your lessons tomorrow. Off you trot!"

There was a loud scraping of chairs as the students stood up. A blonde haired girl called down the table. "Gryffindor first years, follow me!"

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter followed the rest of the first years. The castle was impossible to navigate alone. They seemed to have gone up all the staircases in the castle before finally arriving at the portrait of an extremely fat lady.

"The password is 'Wiggentree'," the prefect said to the Fat Lady, who nodded, and swung forwards, revealing a small entranceway to the common room filled with squashy armchairs and a roaring fire. She directed the girls through one door and the boys to another.

There was a winding staircase, and they arrived at a door that read 'First Years'. Five four-poster beds with velvet curtains were placed around the room. At the foot of each bed lay a trunk, which had been brought up for them. The four boys were joined by a dark skinned boy with dark hair, who announced that he was going to sleep, and was out like a light.

"Goodnight, then," Remus said, and walked over to his own bed, swinging the curtains shut. James, Sirius, and Peter followed suit.


End file.
